UK IN EU CHALLENGE CONSIDERING APPEAL AGAINST HIGH COURT RULING

Following today’s court ruling denying permission to proceed, those behind the UK in EU Challenge are working through the judgement and considering an appeal.

Mr Justice Ouseley today [Monday 10th December] ruled against the case of Susan Wilson and Others versus the Prime Minister, having deferred his judgement at Friday’s Oral Hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice.

QC Jessica Simor had argued in court that the case was of grave constitutional importance and that the public needed to have faith in the rule of law and democracy.

Simor said established Vote Leave illegalities meant the electorate could no longer be expected to respect the result and highlighted Theresa May’s repeated refusals to take any cognisance of the illegalities as “irrational”.

Her colleague Patrick Green QC added that “this was not the referendum that Parliament specified when the statutory spending limits were breached.”

However, Mr Justice Ouseley supported the argument by Sir James Eadie QC for the Government that the claim was out of time.

Susan Wilson, lead claimant and chair of Bremain in Spain, said: “Whilst I am obviously disappointed with this ruling, this challenge is far from over. We are now working through the judgement in depth and considering an appeal, however this is a costly course of action and we are reliant on crowdfunding support.

“The Court has heard facts about repeated Vote Leave illegal payments and the ways in which these funds were directed to influence the Referendum outcome. For the Court to let this matter pass indicates a shocking level of tolerance for illegal behaviour in our democratic process. It would be a mistake to deny this wrongdoing and the impact it has had.

“Throughout this case, the Government has aggressively countered our claims, despite the detailed findings of the Electoral Commission and expert witness evidence. In doing so, it has shown a blatant disregard for UK democratic values.

“The UK in EU Challenge team would like to thank our legal advisers at Croft Solicitors, plus our barristers Jessica Simor QC, Patrick Green QC, Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Adam Wagner and Reanne MacKenzie, as well as the wider team for all their hard work.

“Even more importantly we would like to thank all those people who have contributed and continue to contribute to the crowdfunding campaign enabling this action.”

Croft Solicitors, which successfully acted on behalf of parties in the original Article 50 case, has been representing the claimants. Rupert Croft said: “Obviously this is a disappointing result and we now need time to consider the position and align what we believe are the merits of our case with what’s in the judgement before making a decision about next steps.”